Pictures and Birthdays

First of all, I have to say a big thank you for all the prayers, thoughts, and cards we received in this past week. Although it was difficult to say good-bye to grandpa, we are doing ok and will continue to heal knowing that God has him safe in heaven. I don't know what people do who lose a loved one and don't have that peace knowing that they are in God's hands.

Secondly, we finally got our new camera about a week ago. We went to pick it up 2 weeks ago when it was on sale at Best Buy, but of course it was out of stock, so we had to wait another week to get it. It's a lot different than our old one, but I'm sure we'll get used to it. And I thought I'd post some recent pictures (since we have taken so many trying out the different features of the camera). And of course, they are mostly of our favorite model! :)

Landon has recently discovered his feet
Logan doesn't want to be left out

Lastly, I have to wish our siblings a HAPPY BIRTHDAY! Kristina turned 27 on the 13th and Nate will be 27 on the 16th of March. It was really nice being able to celebrate with Kristina because we haven't done that in years. The Bergers, Hoovers, and Hahns went with Kristina to the Chubby Trout restaurant, where you get a free ice cream sundae and mug if it's your birthday (for future reference). And then back to our house to watch the Purdue basketball game and they won!!

Aunt Kristina and Landon spending some quality tummy time together!

One Last Breath...

...and it's home to be with Jesus. Grandpa was disconnected from life support today. The EKG showed little brain wave activity and his kidneys were failing. The nurses unhooked the ventilator and he breathed for a few minutes on his own, but a little after 1:00 this afternoon, he took his last breath. We all prayed with him and told him how much we loved him before he left this Earth. So I'm sure that he is up singing with the choir and holding Grandma's hand. We will all definitely miss him, but we have so many wonderful memories to hang on to.
Here are just a few:
-Grandpa was always a singer. He passed his love of music to his daughters who then passed it down to the granddaughters! :)
-Everytime he'd come down to visit at mom and dad's, he'd never say, "hello" it was always "hoo-hoo."
-When I was younger, and still recently, I always remember thinking how gross it was that he'd always mix all his food together. I'm not talking about mixing the beef with the noodles, but the beef, noodles, jello salad, bread, corn, etc. all together. He always assured me that it tasted the same (even though I never believed it!).
-Whenever someone would pray aloud, he would always join in with a "yes" or a "do it" as his way of talking to God too.
-He always had a story to tell and was always so up to date with things that were going on in the news.
There are so many more things I could share, but I'll stop for now. The funeral arrangements will be made some time tomorrow and Kristina's trying to get a flight home. I know the family would just appreciate prayers. God has definitely called one of his most good and faithful servants home.

Unexpected Weekend

I know that God knows the number of our days here on Earth, but it still always surprises me when those days look like they're coming to an end. My Grandpa Bleile (mom's dad) was taken to the hospital last Saturday because he was having trouble breathing. Turns out that he had pneumonia, so they admitted him to the hospital and he was doing alright for most of this week. But last night, he took a turn for the worse and this morning he stopped breathing.

Matt, Landon, Logan, and I were on our way to visit Mikel, Jessica, and Gunnar when I got a call from mom saying that Grandpa had stopped breathing and he was unresponsive, so we turned the car around and drove right to the hospital. He is now on life support, not breathing on his own, and in a coma like state. It was so difficult to see him in the hospital, not at all looking like the talkative go-getter that I'm used to seeing.

I guess the plan is to wait 24 hours and see if he can breathe on his own. It looks like there will be some difficult decisions for the family to make in the next few days, so we could all use your prayers. I know God is good and my grandpa has such a close relationship with the Lord, but it's still hard. I'll try to keep everyone updated. Thanks so much!